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The Chicago Bulls announced today that they have waived forward Viktor Khryapa and came to a settlement on the remaining portion of his contract, should he clear waivers.
In his one-plus seasons with Chicago, Khryapa appeared in 42 games and averaged 2.5 ppg and 1.8 rpg in 5.6 mpg.
The Bulls roster now stands at 14.
Team Detroit will defend its Haier Shooting Stars title against Team Chicago, Team Phoenix and Team San Antonio in this year’s competition, which will be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 16, at New Orleans Arena.
The Detroit team, which captured the title last year in Las Vegas with a time of 50.5 seconds, consists of All-Star and 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, Shock forward and two-time WNBA All-Star Swin Cash, and Shock head coach and four-time NBA All-Star Bill Laimbeer. Cash and Laimbeer were key figures in the Shock capturing the 2003 and 2006 WNBA championships.
Team Chicago, last year’s runner-up, is comprised of Bulls guard and Slidell, La. native Chris Duhon, two-time WNBA All-Star and Sky forward Candice Dupree and three-time NBA champion B.J. Armstrong. Representing Phoenix, the 2005 winner, are All-Star Amaré Stoudemire, two-time WNBA All-Star and 2007 WNBA Finals MVP Cappie Pondexter and Suns great Eddie Johnson. Team San Antonio, which dominated the competition in the 2006 Shooting Stars challenge with a record-setting time of 25.1 seconds, consists of 10-time All-Star and three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, four-time WNBA All-Star and Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon and David Robinson, a two-time NBA champion and One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Team Los Angeles won the inaugural competition in 2004.
The Haier Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.
The Chicago Bulls today named Michael Brown assistant coach. Brown joins Ron Adams, Pete Myers and Mike Wilhelm to round out Jim Boylan’s coaching staff.
“Michael’s main responsibility will be working with Pete Myers and focusing on the continued development of our young big men,” said Bulls Interim Head Coach Jim Boylan. “His experience as a player in the NBA, and as a coach in the NBDL, will be a welcome addition to our staff and our team.”
For more info, see the full story.
Chicago Bulls team captain Luol Deng will be sidelined one to three weeks due to left Achilles tendinitis.
To date, Deng (6-9, 220) has missed a total of four games because of the injury, sitting out Jan. 5 – 11 and again on Jan. 19. He has also missed three games this season due to lower back pain (Nov. 18 – 24).
In his fourth season, Deng has appeared in 33 games, including 32 starts, and averaged 17.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 2.4 apg in 34.7 mpg. He has shot .478 from the floor, including .400 from three-point range, and .762 from the free throw line.
The AP reports: Chicago Bulls rookie Joakim Noah was benched for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks — by his teammates. They delivered a unanimous vote after the rookie from Florida was involved in a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams in practice before Friday’s game at Philadelphia. Noah was inactive for the Philadelphia game for internal disciplinary reasons, but the players told interim coach Jim Boylan one game was not enough.
The Arlington Heights Daily Herald reports: Bulls rookie Joakim Noah was placed on the inactive list for Friday’s game at Philadelphia due to a disciplinary action. Noah admitted getting into a verbal altercation with one of the assistant coaches at the morning shootaround, but chose not to provide reporters with many details.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports: The altercation is believed to have been verbal with Ron Adams. Noah’s also been late on several occasions this season.
The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has recalled rookie forward Demetris Nichols from the Iowa Energy of the D-League. The team also assigned rookie guard JamesOn Curry to the team’s D-League’s affiliate.
Nichols (6-8, 216), claimed by the Bulls on waivers on Dec. 7, appeared in nine games with the Energy and averaged 18.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.00 bpg in 36.9 mpg and shot .414 from the field, .333 from the arc and .800 from the line. Prior to his arrival with the Bulls, he also spent time this season in New York and Cleveland, having appeared in three games with the Cavaliers.
Nichols was originally selected by Portland in the second round (53rd overall) of NBA Draft 2007 after a four-year standout career at Syracuse.
Curry’s assignment to Iowa marks his second stint with the Energy. In nine games with the D-League affiliate, he averaged 21.9 ppg, 5.8 apg, 3.6 rpg and 1.00 spg in 41.4 mpg. He shot .473 from the field, including .378 from three-point range, and .774 from the free throw line.
Curry was selected by Chicago in the second round (51st overall) of NBA Draft 2007 after three years at Oklahoma State.
The AP reports: Former NBA star Scottie Pippen scored nine points to help Finland league leader Torpan Pojat beat Honka 98-85 on Saturday. Pippen also had nine rebounds. “It was great. I did not know what to anticipate without a game for the last three years,” the 42-year-old Pippen said. “My conditioning is not at the top level, but I played with a great team and had a lot of fun.”
The Bulls actually look like a real team again under new head coach Jim Boylan. Maybe they’ll soon be a force as it was expected they’d be. The AP reports:
Ben Gordon scored 22 points, Luol Deng added 21 points and 13 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls continued their strong play under interim coach Jim Boylan with a 109-97 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. The Bulls, who improved to 3-1 under Boylan, rallied from a 12-point third-quarter deficit when Boylan tweaked his rotation to take advantage of Charlotte’s small lineup.
Lots of teams rally when a big change gets made, though. Let’s see if it continues.
Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson announced today the team has appointed Lead Assistant Coach Jim Boylan to Interim Head Coach for the remainder of the 2007-08 season. Boylan’s role as the Bulls’ Interim Head Coach will begin immediately.
“After sitting down with Jim yesterday and discussing our team I feel comfortable giving him the interim head coaching position. Jim has paid his dues as an assistant coach and has his own ideas on the way he wants us to play,” stated Paxson. “Many top assistants never get the chance to be a head coach in the NBA and Jim has assured me he will provide the necessary energy and commitment this position requires. Ron Adams, Pete Myers and Mike Wilhelm will continue to play integral roles on the staff and will give great support to Jim and our team.”
Full info on insidehoops.com.